Applications for Lawrence-Austin affordable housing development in the Jefferson Park area available June 1, with monthly rents ranging from $700 to $1,800
by BRIAN NADIG
Applications for the 48-unit affordable housing development at Lawrence and Austin avenues, with monthly rents ranging from about $700 to $1,800, will be available Wednesday, June 1.
Occupancy for this Jefferson Park area development is expected to start in September or October, according to Joshua Wilmoth, president of Full Circle Communities, the project’s developer.
A preference for the apartments will be given to applicants who are veterans or have disabilities, and the rents will be based on annual income limits and the size of the unit. Plans call for the units to be offered to households earning between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income.
The site of the development was in the 38th Ward but under the recently approved ward remap it is in the 41st Ward.
In 2020 Alderman Nicholas Sposato (38th) made an unsuccessful attempt to downzone the property, which if approved would have delayed or halted the project, which did not require a zoning change. The site, which was vacant for years, had been rezoned for multi-family construction several years ago for a townhouse development that was never built.
Supporters of the project argue that it will give families of color more access to the community. Sposato has said that under affordable housing criteria applicants are not chosen based on their race and that there is no limit on the amount of an applicant’s savings, only on their annual income.
On-site amenities will include community rooms, laundry rooms, computer lab and library, children’s activity room, bike storage and central courtyard.
Application forms will be posted on June 1 HERE, Wilmoth said. Those interested also can go to the Web site and sign up for the interest list, and an application will be e-mailed next week, he said.
The complex, whose address is 6001 W. Lawrence Ave., will consist of two four-story buildings with 47 outdoor parking spaces. It will include a mix of studio and one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Each building will have an elevator.
Full Circle also is the developer for the recently opened 75-unit, mixed-income housing development at 5150 N. Northwest Hwy. that includes a church and offices for nonprofit organizations. It also includes market-rate apartments, CHA-subsidized units for low-income families and units reserved for homeless veterans in addition to affordable units. Friendship Community Place has operated a pop-up pantry at the complex that offers tenants household and personal items as they move in.
(photo by Rob Mandik)
